I prefer the Eastern, rather than Western, approach to mindfulness

Since I enjoyed psychologist Ellen Langer's most recent book so much (The Mindful Body), I figured that I'd also enjoy what may have been her first book, or at least an early book, Mindfulness. 

Actually, not so much. As Langer says in a section called "Mindfulness East and West," she takes a decidedly Western approach to mindfulness.

The definitions of mindfulness in this chapter, especially the process orientation just discussed, will remind many readers of various concepts of mindfulness found in Eastern religion... While there are many similarities, the differences in the historical and cultural background from which they are derived, and the more elaborate methods, including meditation, through which a mindful state is said to be achieved in the Eastern traditions should make us cautious about drawing comparisons that are too tidy.

From what I've read so far in Mindfulness, which was first published in 1989 (I have the 2014 25th anniversary edition), I'd disagree that Eastern approaches to mindfulness are more elaborate than Langer's Western variety.

After all, mindfulness basically is just paying nonjudgmental attention to what's occurring in the present moment. That's pretty damn simple. The classic Buddhist approach to mindfulness in meditation is following the breath. Again, pretty damn simple.

When thoughts of past, present, or future arise, and are noticed, the attention is to be returned to the breath. Yes, Buddhism has an elaborate system of writings and practices that go far beyond attention to the present moment. But those aren't mindfulness. 

So I prefer my practice of mindfulness to be based on the simplicity of Eastern approaches. However, what Langer offers in her book is valuable, because she provides a conceptual or research underpinning to mindfulness. Langer notes that this is at odds with traditional Eastern teachings.

As an example of the semantic and philosophical tangles that arise if we try to compare Eastern and Western views of the mindful state, consider the activity of creating new categories. While this is a form of mindfulness in our definition, it appears to be in direct opposition to what one does during meditation.

In meditation, the mind becomes quieter and active thought is discouraged. In some forms of meditation, thoughts and images that come to mind are considered unimportant and are relinquished as one discerns their presence.

At the same time, in many Eastern views, the proper meditation techniques are said to result in a state that has been called de-automatization. In this state, old categories break down and the individual is no longer trapped by stereotypes. Such freedom from rigid distinctions is very similar to the mindfulness being described in this book.

True. That's why I'm enjoying certain parts of Mindfulness more than the overall approach, which is decidedly conceptual and research-based. For example, I like what Langer has to say in a section called "More Than One View." 

I aspire to the message of these passages, even though I readily admit that I'm attached to my own view and often find it difficult to take other views seriously, or even respectfully (especially when it comes to politics at odds with my liberal/progressive leaning).

Once we become mindfully aware of views other than our own, we start to realize that there are as many different views as there are different observers. Such awareness is potentially liberating.

For example, imagine that someone has just told you that you are rude. You thought you were being frank. If there is only one perspective, you can't both be right. But with an awareness of many perspectives, you could accept that you are both right and concentrate on whether your remarks had the effect that you actually wanted to produce.

...Every idea, person, or object is potentially simultaneously many things depending on the perspective from which it is viewed. A steer is steak to a rancher, a sacred object to a Hindu, and a collection of genes and proteins to a molecular biologist.

Good point.

My view of Langer's book is just one, my own. Everybody who reads Mindfulness will have a different response to it. Having just reminded myself of this, I'm going keep on reading the book with hopefully a mindset that is a bit more flexible.

Just because I prefer an Eastern approach to mindfulness doesn't mean I can't appreciate and value Langer's Western approach. As she says:

The consequences of trying out different perspectives are important. First, we gain more choice in how to respond. A single-minded label produces an automatic reaction, which reduces our options. Also, to understand that other people may not be so different allows us empathy and enlarges our range of responses. We are less likely to feel locked into a polarized struggle. 

This makes sense in many situations. However, when it comes to solid facts, such as the reality of human-caused global warming, "trying out different perspectives" isn't the right thing to do. In these sorts of cases, reality almost certainly is a certain way.

Sure, people can have valid individual responses to agreed-upon facts. But recognizing facts as facts seems as mindful to me as recognizing my inhale as breathing in and my exhale as breathing out. It's simply the way reality is at this moment.

Comments

[Ron E.]

My approach to meditation I guess is more Eastern than Western; although I wouldn’t particularly adopt any strict or orthodox practices. Meditation to me is a very simple affair. It’s really about just noticing, about being aware, a sort of lazy enquiry – a relaxed, on-going enquiry. It could be categorised as being in the moment, but that phrase has become a little worn out.

I’d think that anyone who is interested in finding out who/what they are would naturally home in on the cognitive processes, the mass of mental activity that appears to generate and contain all the in-formation that poses as ‘me’, as who I am.

Perhaps such a relaxed goal-less practice may show up many of the usually unconscious drives that takes us off on numerous searches for meaning or purpose; or it could perhaps allow us to question our beliefs and assumptions.

But of course, people may not (and rightly so) be interested in self-enquiry. There are a thousand and one other issues and priorities that take precedence. Perhaps meditation enters one life later in life, or maybe at a time when nothing we have done or attempted feels satisfying.

[sant64]

"This makes sense in many situations. However, when it comes to solid facts, such as the reality of human-caused global warming, "trying out different perspectives" isn't the right thing to do. In these sorts of cases, reality almost certainly is a certain way."

The proper perspective that jibes with "reality" is what? Believing that we're in the end-times because there's little hope we can reverse GW, or believing that GW is manageable and not the extinction-level event it's often characterized as?

"Science" and "reality" aren't synonyms. Unfortunately, we live in an age where many believe that scientific opinion is absolute truth. And perhaps just as many believe that scientific opinion is another term for propaganda.

The best practice of mindfulness is like the best practice of science. Not looking for reasons why the party line in our outside one's head is right, but constantly observing how it is w r o n g.